Institute history

SKETCH, version of January 19, 2016. A more complete version is written for the moment in Romanian.

The story of the Institute starts with the coming of Tiberiu Popoviciu to the University from Cluj-Napoca (the later “Babes-Bolyai” University), in 1946, when he was appointed as Professor of Number Theory.

In the following year, the mathematicians gathered around him formed the “Seminar on Numerical Analysis” (see here an old document which contains this statement).

As a result of the numerous and promising results of this Seminar, in 1951, the Romanian Academy founded the Mathematical Section of the Cluj-Napoca Branch of the Romanian Academy, formed by the members of this Seminar; the Section was located in the building from no. 37, Republicii St.

Due to the profound results obtained here (see the original list of the results obtained by the collaborators of the Section, between 1951-1957), the Romanian Academy transformed the Section into the “Institutul de Calcul” (an approximate translation would be Institute of Computing, i.e., numerical and electronic computing), with legal personality .

Apart of mathematical research, the Institute made intensive and cutting edge explorations in electronics. Three computers were built here from scratch:

in 1959, the relay computer, called MARICA (“Masina Automata cu Relee a Institutului de Calcul al Academiei”), which was a prototype;

between 1959-1963, the electronic computer DACICC-1 (“Dispozitiv Automat de Calcul al Institutului de Calcul Cluj”), which was the first computer in Romania containing transistors, and the first containing ferrites for the internal memory.;

between 1963-1968, the electronic computer DACICC-200 (“Dispozitiv Automat de Calcul al Institutului de Calcul Cluj”), which was the computer in Romania with most advanced characteristics in Romania before seventies. It was the first computer in Romania having an Operating System, and it allowed 200.000 arithmetical operations per second (this characteristic was added to its name). It is interesting to note that the communist regime decided not to made further original computers in our country, but to buy the license from France, and started to made the Felix computers; the first generation of these computer is known that performed a few hundred thousand arithmetical operations per seconds, so comparable to DACICC-200.

Also, the Institute became one of the leaders in electronics in Romania obtaining here:

The expertise in Numerical Analysis gained here lead to numerous contracts with the industry and agriculture from our country, bringing consistent benefits (up to ten $million).

Most of the main technical institutes of Romania benefited of the trainings on computer programming organized by the Institute (a partial list is here).

Numerous highschools across the Romania sent pupils to see the computers made at the Institute and to learn Computer Science.

Due to international connections with different authors, the Institute had an updated library, containing numerous books and journals. The students and mathematicians from this benefited of this facility (see here a list of approvals for loaning books).